Page 26 of The Arrangement

I shook my head, barely retaining enough presence of mind to register the question. I really needed to stop letting my thoughts wander around him.

“Okay.” He stepped forward and set his empty cup on the counter beside me. “Something on your mind?”

Thatgot my attention. My head shot up, and I met his gaze, but the heat from the last time he’d asked me that question wasn’t in his eyes. Doubt swirled in my chest. Was it something I’d done? More likely it was something I hadn’t. It wasalwayssomething I hadn’t. I didn’t pick up on sexual cues as quickly as most people seemed to. I didn’t know if that was due to a lack of skill, practice, something inherently wrong with me, or what. Whatever it was, it inevitably bit me in the ass.

I’d thought for sure he’d kiss me that day in the Quarter and I’d fuckingwantedit. Had I read that wrong? Was I supposed to kiss him? Was it not like that at all? Was that intense morning after our run yet another fleeting moment and I’d gotten all twisted up over nothing… again? My face heated with embarrassment as I stared into his stunning blue-green eyes that were almost the exact shade of the clear water on the coast. Why did this always happen to me? Why couldn’t I be normal? I’d let my stupid feelings get warped into my ridiculous hero worship and now—

“Marc, I want you to breathe with me. Can you do that?”

I blinked at him in confusion. He gently squeezed my bicep, and I glanced down at his muscular grip and saw my coffee cup sitting beside his. That was weird. I didn’t remember putting it down.

“Eyes back up here, baby boy.” The soft command in his voice had my gaze automatically returning to his face. “Good. Now take a deep breath with me.”

I did as he said, surprised to find it hurt.

“Now let it out through your mouth.”

The air escaped in a big rush, as if it couldn’t leave fast enough.

He chuckled lightly and rubbed my arm. “Try a little slower on this next one. Follow me.” We breathed together until it stopped hurting, though I wasn’t sure how he knew that. “Better. How do you feel? Do you want to talk about what happened?”

“You have a lot of freckles,” I blurted.

A grin split his face. He released my arm and stepped back. I came damn close to demanding he put his hand right back where it had been, but even with all of my weirdness, I knew that wasn’t right. “You seem rather preoccupied with my freckles,” he said, arching a copper eyebrow.

“I… well…” I stiffened my spine and pushed my shoulders back. “In case you haven’t noticed, there’s more of them thanpeople around here,” I finished with a huff, putting my fists on my hips for emphasis.

There was a brief pause, then he tilted his head back and let out a rich belly laugh. The sound melted away the last of my anxiety as a smile split my face, and I absolutely didnotstare enraptured at the way his Adam’s apple bobbed. He slowly sobered, using the heels of his palms to wipe the corners of his eyes.

“I swear to God, Marc, the shit that comes out of your mouth.” He ruffled my hair, and I made a strangled sound of indignant protest, which of course made him laugh. “Never change, baby boy.” He winked and stepped further away while I struggled to get my brain to reboot.

That was flirting, right? Winks almost always meant flirting. At least in this context. I was like eighty-five percent sure. And he’d called me… My poor, floundering brain did another record-scratch. Wait a damn minute.

“So, what’s on the agenda today?” JD asked, stretching his absurdly long arms overhead and causing his shirt to ride up and reveal a strip of copper-dusted pale skin.

“Shop.”

“What was that?” he asked, dropping his arms.

I shook my head.Jesus Christ, Marc. Pull yourself together. “I figured we’d haul the last of the large items to the dumpster, drop off some more things at the shelter, then hit up Page and Palette.”

The way his eyes brightened told me I’d chosen a good pebble today. “That’s awesome. I’ve been meaning to get back into physical books again. I wonder if they’ll have any of my favorite indie authors in stock.”

“You’ll have to show me who they are.”

He gave me a dubious look. “They’ll be queer books.”

“And?”

He rolled his eyes. “Gay, Marc. They’ll be gay as fuck. Because I like to read ‌queer romance, and though I happily read all colors of the rainbow, I’ve been jonesing for some gay romance.” He gave me a look that I could only interpret as a challenge.

I raised my eyebrows, still not sure what the issue was. Who was I to judge what a man liked to read in his spare time? I couldn’t even tell when I was genuinely attracted to someone. “So… smut?”

His gaze darkened, and I knew too late that was the wrong thing to say. “No. While some of it might be purely PWP—”

“I’m sorry, what?”

He rolled his eyes. “Porn without plot.”